I'm Interviewing.....

Today I'm over at the Get Lost in a Story Blog interviewing author Victoria Roberts! Victoria writes about hot Highland hunks and the lasses who love them! Come find out about her and her books!

No NaNoWriMo

I dropped out of NaNoWriMo a week ago. After the first few days, I realized how amazingly high my goals were for the month of November. I wanted to write 50,000 words this month. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of finishing yet another story. But reality took a big bite out of my arse!

I'm in the process of searching out a new home, I'm still searching for a full-time job, I've been working more hours, I had the release of Fractured Paradise last Monday, I got a different idea for my writing goals, and then last weekend I also got word that an online class I proposed was going ahead. I hadn't created any of the lessons because I thought it had been canceled. With all of that going on, I accepted the fact that my "real world" needed to come first. So good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo!

SOOOOO....what I am doing in the writing world is this. I'm about halfway done the rough draft of a new short story, a contemporary romance with no suspense (shocking, I know!). Once that is finished, I'm going to put it aside until December and I'm going to focus on prepping the partial of a different project, one I wrote in summer 2011 called Unbroken. The editor who liked my last full manuscript enough to ask for revisions got moved to a different department and Unbroken is a perfect fit for her new department. Wish me luck!

Six Sentence Sunday- New Project!

Good morning! I'm back for another round of Six Sentence Sunday! To see other Sixers and their snippets, visit the website.

Today I'm sharing a brand new story with you. I'm currently writing a story, a straight romance, no suspense, called Silent Surrender. I have to warn you it's VERY rough. I'm not even finished with the rough draft. (Hopefully soon!) But Quinn and Meggie are burning up the pages of my notebook! So, here you go!

This had to be the absolute dumbest idea he'd ever come up with. His players and fellow coaches were prepping for the friendly match with the Scotland National team and he, Quinn O'Connell, had taken a train ride to chase after a woman.

What did he expect? That they'd sleep together again and then she'd send him on his way, off to maneuver young lads through football techniques and strategies?

When he dipped into Waverley Station and bought the train ticket yesterday, this had been a grand idea. Now, standing in the lass's Highland village with no way of searching her out and nowhere to stay the nights, he felt like a fool.

What do you think? I can't decide where Quinn is from. I want him to be Scottish, but he keeps telling me he's Irish. We'll see who wins that argument! Meggie is a secondary character in my first Honor Guard book, Her Highland Champion. I loved writing her so much I knew immediately that I'd want to write her story at some point. (But this isn't an Honor Guard book.)

Thanks for visiting! I look forward to your comments.

WINNERS!!

Here is a complete list of all the winners from this week. Thank you to everyone who participated! The daily winners will receive a small treat from me and the grand prize winner, chosen from ALL commenters throughout the week, wins a copy of the book, Fractured Paradise. Winners, if you have not already done so, please send an email to alexa @ alexabourne . com!

Monday winner- Jessica Subject

Tuesday winner- Clancy

Wednesday winner- Brenna Ash

Thursday winner- Cathy MacRae

Friday winner- Shari

GRAND PRIZE WINNER- SUSAN W.

 

Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you in a few weeks for the release

of my NEXT Honor Guard story!

Release Party Day 5- What's Next For Lexi?

First, thanks so much for celebrating all week with me. You've made my release so much more fun, and your presence means a lot. But, the party must end and I've got to get back to work.

At the moment, I'm busy writing a short story. Later in November, I plan to draft my next Honor Guard book. Also, I'm waiting to hear the official word so I can share some exciting news I've had to sit on for a while.

 BUT.....

In just a few weeks, you can meet another IPN Honor Guard. Well, Colin Munro wants to be an operative of International Protective Network, but one woman may get in the way.

Here's the unofficial blurb for Simple Treasures:

Take-charge bodyguard, Colin Munro believes working for the International Protective Network will be the perfect occupation for him. Unfortunately, his trial assignment is protecting a woman who has no intention of blindly following orders. Aye, he’ll bring the bonnie lass in line because there’s no way he’ll allow her to ruin his chance of securing his dream job.
 
Physically and emotionally scarred during her stint as a US soldier, Joanna Grainger wants nothing more than to enjoy life. New Year's Eve in Edinburgh marks the beginning of her transformation. But when she witnesses a crime no one believes occurred, her plans come to a screeching halt. To make matters worse, her sexy but headstrong bodyguard has no compassion for her or the victim.

As danger hunts them during one of the busiest time of the year, Joanna must convince Colin she's a worthy partner. But first, can she convince herself?

 

Want an unofficial peek? Shhhh. Don't tell, but here's the opening of Simple Treasures, which will be coming to you soon!

CHAPTER ONE

Colin Munro didn’t know which knife to worry about more, the one pointed at his throat or the one at his crotch.

“You’ve got ten seconds to tell me who the hell you are, or I start slicing,” the woman threatened.

He glanced into her stormy dark eyes. Joanna Grainger. The lass he’d been sent to keep safe.

Aye, but who would protect him?

“Take care where you move those blades.” Of course, he wasn’t terribly worried. If he needed to, he could easily disarm her. She stood about five-foot-six without the high heels she’d been wearing when she first entered her flat.

“I’m the one giving orders here.” The steel at his neck pushed a bit closer to his Adam’s apple.

“I don’t think so.” Colin smacked her arms at the same moment, snatched the blades from her fingers with one hand, and pushed her back to the wall. The picture frame close to her head shook, but he hadn’t shoved with nearly as much force as he could have. He pinned both her wrists to the wall above her head. “I’m Colin Munro, and I’m here to protect you.”

“I don’t remember asking anyone for help.” She brought her knee up for a perfect shot to his groin, but he shifted in time to get his family jewels out of the way.

“You didn’t, but Heather Winchester did.” He imagined she could be quite bonnie when she wasn’t scowling or threatening him.

The name of her university mate drew her big, brown eyes wide for a moment. “Heather?” She dropped her leg, leaving her navy skirt sitting crooked on her slim hips.

“Aye. Heather called Russell MacLeod of the International Protective Network this morning, explained you’d witnessed a crime, and she was worried about you. She thought you might need protection. They gave the job to me.”

She narrowed her gaze on him. “Why should I believe you?”

“Because if I were here to kill you, you’d already be dead.” Taking a step back, he tossed the blades to the coffee table. The sound of the metal scattering across the wood charged into the silence of the room. Her back, he noticed, stayed against the wall.

So what do you think? I have to admit, I didn't really love Colin at first, but he totally grew on me as I wrote the story! Be sure to keep in touch with me because I'll be doing another party when this story comes out as well.

Remember to leave your comments to be in the running for the last day of PRIZES AND the grand prize, which will both be announced tomorrow!

THANK YOU!!!


 

Release Party Day 4- What Did You Say????

Welcome back to the 2nd half of my Sunderland Dialect Game for the Fractured Paradise Release Party! Did you get a chance to play this morning? If so, have you checked the answers?

The directions are the same as before. I've given you words or phrases from my Sunderland relatives as they speak them. Your job is to "translate" them to American English. You can translate as many or as few as you wish. Just leave your guesses in the comments section. I'll give you the answers around midnight!
THANKS FOR PLAYING!

11. "Wee said that, like?"
WHO SAID THAT?

12. "Where yae gawn tee?"
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

13. carnt- In American English, this word has an apostrophe in it and fewer letters
CAN'T

14. hinny- My grandfather often called my grandmother this.
SWEETHEART/LOVE/A TERM OF ENDEARMENT

15. canny lass- Girls, we'd all be happy with this description of us.
GOOD LASS

(This is Penshaw Monument, Sunderland)

16. chatties- A food I LOVE
POTATOES

17. "Shut your gob."
SHUT YOUR MOUTH

18. bullets- Most of the time you can't get these out of a little kid's hand.
SWEETS/HARD CANDY

19. lugholes- We all, men, women and children, have two of them.
EARS

20. claes- Most of us wouldn't be caught dead out in public without them.
CLOTHES

Okay, there you go! I look forward to your translations!

Remember to leave comments on any posts this week! Saturday I'll be choosing the winner from all the comments from the week. And tonight I'll choose today's winner from everyone who plays the game!

Release Party Day 4-What Did You Say????

Good morning! Welcome to Day 4 of my Fractured Paradise release party! Today, we're going to play a game using the dialect of my Sunderland relatives (past and present). I don't really use these words much in my stories, but I often hear this dialect in my head as I'm writing.

Okay! Are you ready?

DIRECTIONS: I'm going to give you a set of words this morning and then another this afternoon and it's your job to try to figure out what each one means. You can make a guess about as many of them as you wish. For this morning's words, I'll give you the answers around noon. For the afternoon's words, I'll leave the answers up after midnight!

So for example, if I were playing and writing answers:

1. "She could talk the head off a wooden donkey."
In the comments section, I would put
1. Someone who talks too much.
2. (Whatever you think it means)
And if I skipped 3 & 4
5. (Whatever you think it means)


THANKS TO AL WHO PLAYED THIS MORNING. I ENJOYED READING YOUR COMMENTS! HERE ARE THE ANSWERS:

1. "Me mam nicked me sweets."
MY MOM TOOK MY CANDY.

2. deed- None of us want to be this anytime soon!
DEAD

3. "Watch how you go."
BE CAREFUL/WATCH YOURSELF/TAKE CARE

(This is Roker Pier Lighthouse, Sunderland)

 

4. "I'm gannin yem."
I'M GOING HOME.

5. "Why aye, man!"
OF COURSE!

6. pet- And I don't mean the furry creatures we have as part of our families.
IT'S A TERM OF ENDEARMENT. MY ENGLISH AUNTS ALL CALLED ME THIS.

7. ower- A direction (a preposition)
OVER

8. lang- An amount of time.
LONG

All right, participants. Good luck!

Remember to leave your guesses (and comments for other days) to be in the running for the PRIZES!